I grew up in a family music store called Gracewinds Music in Corvallis, Oregon. We were on the Music Trades list of top 200 retailers, on track to make the top 100 list, when we decided to close our doors.
It was a difficult decision, but the business was in a position where it needed much more time than my parents or I were able to give it. We had celebrated our 30th anniversary just a couple years before and my parents were ready for full time retirement, while I needed to spend more time with my children. The decision was more of an emotional dilemma than a financial necessity.
But after the initial decision to close, there was still a lot to consider: do we sell to a local or national competitor? Do we liquidate? Do we try to sell everything online?
The answer for us turned to be a hybrid of all three, but it took a significant amount of homework to find what was right for us and how to proceed.
Finding the right help was very difficult. We absolutely did not want to go about this without assistance, but I found that most liquidation consultation companies were very expensive, taking 5-10% of sale revenue on top of their initial fees—and nearly all of them required the use of their on-site consultants to fly out and run the sale. That means on top of advertising expenses, we’d be expected to pay $100,000 to have someone else come run our business. Their “no pressure” pressure-driven sales pitches and consistent scare tactics left us looking for other options. After all, we knew our business and our market very well. We finally settled on a business that charged us $4000 for some signage and generic sales advice that didn’t begin to answer our many questions. Anything specific to our situation, like “How do we price smaller accessory items compared to those with Minimum Advertised Price?” and “What do we do with our rental fleet now?” fell on deaf ears.
In the end I spent countless hours of my own research and thousands of dollars on legal and accounting advice. We took the strategies and tactics learned from other liquidation companies and academic research and then applied our collective sales, marketing and music industry know-how to create a powerful liquidation event. This event generated lines 3 blocks long and surpassed $100,000 in opening day sales. We were shocked! We successfully created a viral buzz on social media and secured free press coverage that helped reduce advertising costs to less than 5%. Just over 8 weeks later, with over $1,000,000 in sales (1 years worth of walk-in traffic sales... and yes, we profited!), we closed our doors with barely anything left to liquidate.
Looking back at what I learned throughout the experience, I realized this is something quite valuable and when all the information is present, it was relatively simple too. I learned the strategies and all the details it takes to run a successful liquidation sale, and now I’d like to share them with you to ease the considerable stress that accompanies a store liquidation and to make it profitable for you.
Using our many years in this industry paired with firsthand liquidation experience, we have packaged this up in an easy to follow program, complete with step-by-step plans and personalized support to help you every step of the way. We offer real advice with extensive knowledge and research behind it—no scare tactics or vague guidelines, just straightforward directions, and guidance from someone who’s been in your shoes.
My team and I look forward to partnering with you.
Sincerely,
Travis Oefelein
Owner